Suction cleaner



June 24, 1941. B BECKER 2,246,832

SUCTION CLEANER Filed Sept. 24, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR I Bfnazd CBec/rer ATTORNEY June 24, 1941. s. c. BECKER I SUCTION CLEANER File d Sept. 24.1937

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 k I I BrnardCZBecker ATTORNEY June 24, 1 941. c, K R 2,245,832

SUCTION CLEANER Filed Sept. 24, 1937 4 Shee ts-Sheet s INVENTOR Bernard C'Qfieclrer ATTORNEY June 24, 1941. B. c. BECKER SUCTIOIN CLEANER Filed Sept. 24, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 III! lNVFb {IOR Bernard Cbecker ATTORNEY Patented June 24, 1941' EUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SUCTION CLEANER Bernard 0. Becker, Canton, Ohio, assignorto The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 24, 1931, Serial No. 165,477

2 Claims. (CL -16) ing structure of the electrical units of the suetion cleaner. More specifically the invention comprises a suction cleaner in which the electric motor is formed with a casing of insulating material which supports the entire motor upon the metallic body of the cleaner and which serves as the insulation mounting means for the various electrical current-carrying elements within the suction cleaner.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved suction'cleaner. It is another object of the invention to provide a suction cleaner embodying a new and improved motor construction. 'A still -further objectof the invention is to provide a;suction cleaner in which the .motor caslngisiormed entirely 'of insulation material. ,A still further object of the invention is to provide a suction cleaner in which the field and armature of the driving motor are entirely supported upon the metallic cleaner casing by the motor casing which is formed of insulation material. Another object of the invention is to provide a suction cleaner in which the casing of the electric motor is formed of insulation material, such as Bakelite, which casing serves as the carrying and insulating means for the conductor terminals, the motor bmsh seat and its retaining means, and for the cleaner headlight. A further object of the invention is to provide a suction cleaner in which the casing of the motor is formed of insulation material, carries the current-carrying units of the cleaner, and cooperates with a surrounding and spaced hood to completely insulate and protect the electrical units. A still' further object is to provide a suction cleaner having a motor casing of insulation material which is so molded and shaped as to cooperate with the enclosing hood of insulation material, and which is spaced therefrom so as to form a channel for the motor cooling-air. These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading the following specification and claims and upon considering in connection therewith the attached drawings to which they relate.

Referring now tothe drawings in which. a preferred embodiment ofv th present invention is disclosed; 4

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a'suction cleaner embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but with the enclosing motor hood cut away to disclose the driving motor positioned therein;

Figure 3 is a half front perspective view of the a machine with the enclosing hood partially broken away to show the cooperation of the hood with the motor casing;

Figure 4 is a partial top view or the machine with the top of the motor hood broken away;

Figure 5 is a section through the motor and its enclosing hood upon the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the incoming power lead terminals on the motor casing, being a section taken upon the line 6-6 of Figure 2. but. with one of the terminals beingshown in section;

Figure 7 is a vertical section through the headlight mounting and motor-cooling air channel, being taken upon the line 'l--l of Figure 4;

Figure 8 is a bottom view of the motor unit per se with the suction-creating fan removed and showing the motor bottom plate seated upon the supporting peripheral flange formed on the motor casing.

In the preferred suction cleaners heretofore known, the source or driving power of the cleaner has comprised an electrical motor which has included the usual rotor and stator, the latter being mounted in a casing or frame by which the motor was'supported upon the remainder of the cleaner, and the rotor being suitably carried thereby. This supporting frame-casing being formed of metal,. and therefore a current conductor, was necessarily insulated from the current-carrying parts of the motor and the incoming current-carrying leads, as well as the motor brushes and the motor terminals, were all necessarily insulated thei'efrom. In addition, the entire motor including the frame-casing, was preferably insulated from the remainder of the cleaner to protect completely the operator from possible electrical shocks. If a headlight unit for the suction cleaner were provided, and mounted upon the motor, as was commonly done, it was necessary to connect this headlight to a source of current in the motor through means insulated from the frame-casing and to insulate the headlight itself from the motor.

In the preferred construction of modern suet the frame-casing or the enclosed electrical motor,

or at least was adequately insulated therefrom, and expensive and necessary precautions were taken to prevent the transference of any current is absolutely safe to the user.

from the motor to the enclosing. metallic hood.

Insulation mountings and protective devices were necessary. at all points at which any possible contact could take place and in addition theretp the entire motor unit was insulated, in'

many cleaners, from the supporting cleaner body and from the enclosing metallic hood.

-In the'suction cleaner constructed in accordance with the present invention, the motor framecasing, hereinafter called the motor casing, is

formed of insulation material such as a phenolic condensation product, commonly known as Bakelite. The casing is preferably molded and in this molding process the necessary seats,

from, the construction hereinafter fully described. 1

Referring again to the drawings, a modern suction cleaner embodying a preferred form of the invention is disclosed. The cleaner main casing comprises a nozzle 4 which is interiorly connected through an air passageway 2 to the interior of a fan chamber 3 which is shown in Figure 5. A suction-creating fan d is positioned within fan chamber 3 and is driven by an electric motor, indicated generally by 5, which. is

positioned immediately thereabove, the fan being carried upon the extended lower end of the motor shaft 6. In operation the air drawn throughthe nozzle l and-over the surface covering undergoing cleaning, enters the-fan chamher 3 via the passageway 2 to be exhausted therefrom by the fan #3 through theexha'ustoutlet i into the dust bag 8 which, as in the usual cleaner construction, is removably secured to the exhaust outlet by suitabletmanually operable means 9. The motor is housed within and concealed by an enclosing motor hood it! which with the main casing of the cleaner which supports it forms the visible exterior cleaner body. Hood it is constructed in a definite manner as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

The entire cleaner is movably supported by .front and rear wheels, one of each being shown in the drawings and being indicated by the ref erence characters and I2, respectively. Comc pleting the general suction cleaner arrangement is a pivoted handle E3, the lower portions of the bail arms of which are shown broken away in Figures 1 .and 3. The handle is of a common and well known type pivoted at its lower end to the cleaner body and by its use the, operator can readily propel the machine over-the surface covering undergoing cleaning.

The driving, motor for the suction-creating fan 4 comprises, in the cleaner constructed in accordancewith the present invention, a supporting casing 2'0 of insulation material such as Bakelite, which is formed at its bottom'with a peripheral flange 2i seating directly upon the top wallof the "fan chamber 3 of the main casing of the cleaner and secured there by bolts 23.

top bearing 28, carried by the casing cap 22, and

in a lower bearing 29, carried by the metallic bottom plate 30 of the motor. Plate 30 is itself carried by the bottom supporting flange 2! of casing 2 8 it being secured thereto by removable screws M, 38 etc. 7

The motor commutator 34 is carried by the shaft d immediately above the armature 2'! and is there contacted by the current-carrying brush 35, of carbon or other suitable brush material. Each brush '35, there being two, isslidingly mounted within the metallic brush seat 35 positioned within a radial bore 31 formed ina thickened portion of the top wall of the casing 28.

, The brush 35 is spring-urged against the rotatable coutator 34 by a coil spring 38 which contacts at its outer end a pivoted current-car-- rying latch element 39. Element 353 is pivoted below the brush .seat upon a rivet it and is adapted to be rotated to cover or uncover the bore 3?. In. the closing position a depressed surface 36 in element 39 serves-to seat and center the outer end of the spring38 and also serves to prevent the unintentional rotation of the latch element through making it necessary'to deflect that element slightly outward so that the inner side of the depressed portion M will clear the rim of the bore 37. a

Incoming current to the brush enters the conducting latch element 39 via the rivet 40 which is connected-to a current conductor or bar at upon the exterior surface of insulating casing Zll and which is itself, suitably connected at its opposite end to a source of current in the machine. The brush s'eat 36 is only frictionally retained within the surrounding bore 3? and the spring latch 39 is'of sufiicient strength to. prevent its outward displacement thereby eliminating the necessity of providing additional seatsecuring means. There are, of course, at least two of the brush units,- a pair of the securing latch elements 39, 39 being shown in Figure 4.

The incoming current-conducting leads to the 7 motor are indicated by the reference character 5t and are shown in Figure 6 as passing up wardly through openings 5!, 5i and connecting to terminal posts 52, 52 which are mounted directly in the casing 28 through extending through vertical bores formed in horizontal flanges 53, as illustrated in Figure 6. From the lower end of the terminal posts 52 additional conductors 56, "etc. convey the current to other parts of the motor, suches the above described motor brushes, the stator, and the headlight hereinafter to be described.

Casing 20 is formed of two parts, a main. part,

On the front or nozzle side of the motor casing 2@, as is clearly illustrated in Figures 5 and '2 in particular, a vertical socket til is molded integrally therein. The casing wall is vertically offset above and below this socket portion 50 so that in the molding of the casing the die may be drawn in a straight line. A vertical groove or slot H is formed in the socket 60 which opens on its underside into an oflset seat or recess 62 thereof has been reached at which'time a slight rotational movement of the lamp positions the pin 66 below the recess 62. It is there secured against accidental displacement by the upward vertical force exerted upon the lamp base by the current-carrying contact springs 66, 66 which contact the bottom of the base 64.

These contact springs 66, 66 are secured direct- .ly to the casing wall by meansof metallic rivets 61, 61, one of said rivets being internally threaded, as shown in Figure 7, and adapted to receive a conductor-securing screw 66 to which one of the aforementioned conductors 54 connects. From the opposite rivet 61 the, above mentioned conductor bar "extends to a brush spring latch 36. The relationship is such that the headlight 63 is in series with one of the brushes 35.

To remove the heat generated by the motor proper and by the headlight carried thereby there is provided at the upperend of the motor shaft 6, and between the upper motor bearing 26 and thecommutator 34, a small fan 16. The top wall of the main part of the motor casing 26 is formed with a central opening H immediately above the commutator 34 so that it functions as an eye for the fan' chamber formed by the casing cap 22 which encloses the fan I6. At its forward side this cap 22 is provided with a port 12 to permit of the air drawn through the motor by the fan 16 to be exhausted therefrom. Similarly, intake ports I3, 13 are formed at spaced points in the periphery of the motor casing 20 near its bottom and through these ports air enters the motor to pass upwardly therethrdugh and to be exhausted therefrom by the action of the suction-creating fan 10 through the exhaust port 12. This air, of course, in passing through the motor removes the heat generated thereby.

As the exhaust port 12 is immediately in the rear of and adjacent the top of the headlight 63 the air exhausted from the motor casing passes over that element and thereby additionally removes the heat generated therein.

The motor and headlight-unit are normally enclosed with the motor hood I0 and it is neces- 'sary to provide in that element means to permit -of the entrance and exit of the motor-cooling air as well as a port for the headlight. For this purpose air intake ports 14, I6 etc. are formed therein near its bottom closely adjacent the intake ports 13, 13 in the motor casing 20. Similarly, an exhaust port is provided at the front of the motor hood immediately forward of the headlight 63, as indicated at 15 in such a position that it functions not only as an exhaust port for the motor-cooling air exhausted from the motor casing but also as the opening of the headlight 63.

The exhaust outlet 12 of the motor casing is spaced an appreciable distance from the exhaust outlet 15 in the motor hood and to insure that the motor-cooling air after passing over the headlight 63 will pass directly from the motor hood 6 it is necessary to provide means to prevent the circulation of that air between the hood and the casing. For this purpose cooperating vertical wall sections 16, I6 and l1, l1 are formed upon the motor casing and the motor hood HI, respectively. As is clearly illustrated in Figure 3 these abutting walls are spaced at the sides of the headlight 63 and, in cooperation with a vertical wall 16, formed on the hood l0 'and which contacts the upper surface of the exhaust port 1 2 of the casing, form a closed chamber which" houses the headlight and which is open exteriorly only through; the exhaust port 15 of the hood. Any air exhausted from the cleaner through the exhaust port I2 must, after passing the headlight 63, pass from the chamber formed by the cooperating side walls from the hood In via the exhaust outlet 15.

The motor hood is an entirely separate member from the motor casing and in order to reach the motor proper it is necessary that the hood be removed. As it is sometimes necessary to replace the headlight 63 or to make some adjust- I ment upon the motor, the hood I6 is made easily ily displaceable upwardly to permit of access to.

the screw. With the screw 62 removed the hood is readily. pivoted upwardly at its forward end to permit of the withdrawal of the cammed undersurface of recess from contact with its locking spring 8!. I

The motor hood I6 and the motor casing 26 are, according to this invention, formed of insulation material such as a phenolic condensation product. Neither element of itself is capable of conducting current at the normal voltages at which suction cleaners operate. With the motor hood in place and enclosing the motor casing a space is provided therebetween which absolutely insulates the current-carrying parts of the motor from the user. Because of the fact the casing 26 is of insulation each of the currentconducting elements is directly mounted thereon and in some cases upon its exterior. The entire assembly is greatly simplified as well as greatly reduced in cost. The entire motor and headlight unit is insulated from the metallic main casing of the cleaner through the provision of the supporting flange 2|, on the casing 26 which is the sole connection and support of the motor.

I claim:

1. In a suction cleaner, a metallic main casing including a nozzle, suction-creating means including a motor supported on said casing, said motor including an enclosing casing-frame extended above said casing and formed with ventilating ports at its ends and a pair of downwardly seated on said casing and enclosing said motor,

said hood being formed with a plurality of openings through which ventilating air to and from said motor can pass and with a pair of upwardly and inwardly sloping walls arranged to abut said sloping walls on said frame-casing and to form therewith the sides of a cavity closed from the remainderof the hood interior, characterized in that one of said openings in said hood is positioned and arranged between said sloping wall portions as to permit the passage of motor-andlight-cooling, air between said cavity and atmos phere and to permit light rays from said light unit to pass outwardly fromsaid hood and forwardly of said casing across said nozzle.

2. In a suction cleaner, a metallic main casing including an open-topped fan chamber and a nozzle positioned forwardly thereof, suction creating means including a fan in said chamber on said casing and including a frame-casing of insulating material formed with a surrounding supporting .flange at its bottom seated directly wall of said Ian chamber and entirely insulated therefrom by said frame-casing, a rotor supported at its lower end in said bottom plate,

and a"fleld carriedby said frame-casing adjaon said casing at the open top of said fan cham- 5 cent said rotor.

her, a metallic bottom plate forming the top BERNARD c. BECKER. 

